The reactivation of a wildfire required the defense of several villages, reported José Requeijo, who confirmed that by 9 p.m., the areas were “out of danger”.
The incident occurred between Borbela and Outeiro, near residential areas, with the flames spreading towards Cravelas and Testeira.
“The fire is being fought actively and poses no immediate threat to the public. We have returned to containment operations to resolve this as swiftly as possible,” the commander stated.
Earlier, aerial support helped slow the fire’s progression, and efforts are now being bolstered with additional ground forces, with more units arriving, he explained.
“We expect conditions to improve in the coming hours,” he noted.
Regarding the reactivation, Requeijo described “hotspots maintaining high temperatures”.
“The day was very hot, with increased wind speed; when the reactivation occurred, nearby forces promptly responded, but lacking extinguishing capacity led to intensified fire progression,” he mentioned.
The wildfire, which ignited on August 2 in Sirarelhos, had been contained twice, on Wednesday and early this morning.
As per the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority’s website, by 9 p.m., 324 personnel and 107 aerial resources were deployed to combat the blaze.
